Visit Minnesota: Harriet Island Park Playground

We visited Harriet Island Park Playground for a bit while in Minnesota, while we waited for our Padelford Riverboats cruise to start.

It's a nicely sized playground, with benches for seating, but there is not much shade.  

The kids didn't mind that there was virtually no shade, however, since they were busy playing on the slides, and swinging on the swings (they love swings since they don't see much of them at playgrounds here on Oahu).

There was also lots of space for the kiddos to run around.

The playground was a convenient stop on Harriet Island!

Harriet Island Park Playground
200 Dr Justus Ohage Blvd

St Paul, MN 55107
(651) 292-7010

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Visit Minnesota: Grand Ole Creamery & Grand Pizzeria

One of the best ice cream shops in Minnesota is Grand Ole Creamery & Grand Pizzeria.  This family-owned business offers gourmet, homemade ice cream in exclusive flavors (and started serving pizza about a decade ago - what a great combo!).

North Country Crunch

Cookies N Cream

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

I opted for North Country Crunch - a chocolate malted ice cream full of Heath toffee pieces and roasted almonds.  Loved the creamy / crunchy contrasting textures, and the ice cream is just so yummy!  You must get the housemade waffle cone!

Grand Ole Creamery offers shakes as well!

Grand Ole Creamery & Pizzeria
750 Grand Ave
St Paul, MN 55105

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Visit Minnesota: Tavern on Grand

There are several must-try dishes in Minnesota, and we tried two of them at Tavern on Grand - Walleye and Hotdish.

Walleye Sampler

Tater Tot Hotdish

The Walleye Sampler included grilled, deep-fried, and pan-blackened walleye.  Walleye is one of the best, most mild-tasting fish I ever tried.  My favorite of the preparations was the blackened. 

Tater Tot Hotdish consists of ground beef and veggies in mushroom soup, topped with a layer of tater tots, then sprinkled with cheese.  Talk about comfort food!

A kids menu is available, offering meals for just $6 each, including a side (for most options) and a drink.

Corn Pups with Applesauce

Mac n' Cheese

Service was friendly and efficient, and Tavern on Grand was a great spot to try popular Minnesota eats!

Tavern on Grand
656 Grand Ave

St Paul, MN 55105

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